Possible biological markers of the time of processing of dry-cured ham

Abstract

Several muscle compounds (creatine, creatinine, hypoxanthine, inosine, inosine 5′ monophosphate, xanthine, adenosine monophosphate, guanosine, and uridine) were studied as possible biological markers of a minimum dry-cured ham processing time. A correlation between the concentration of the compounds and the time of processing was found. The ratios for some of them were calculated to study their behaviour during processing. The Hx/Ino ratio substantially increased up to 5months of curing and then remained constant (p<0.05). The Hx/Ino ratio might be considered as a potential biomarker of the minimum time of dry-cured processing (5months). The Cn/Cr ratio increased during drying up to 9months of ripening (p<0.05). However, although Cn/Cr ratios remained constant after 9months of processing, variations between hams were observed due to the differences existing in the raw meats and small differences in processing conditions, making it difficult to consider Cn/Cr ratios as biomarkers of ripening time.